Stop breastfeeding your newborn daughter, or quit was the
ultimatum given to Heather Thompson by her former employer.
February 16, 2006, Thompson told a Senate committee that she chose to leave her
high-pressure job as a molecular biologist.
"My employer expected me to work my entire maternity leave
because he was upset about having to give me a leave in the first
place."
"When I returned to work, I didn't dare ask for a private place
to express milk."
"Based on my first experience, I'm not comfortable asking my new
employer for a space."
Thompson, while holding 5 month old Hunter, made a big impression
with the Senate State lawmakers and The Veterans and Military
Affairs Committee. They voted 5-2 in favor of a bill requiring
employers to provide a private room for breastfeeding mothers.
Senate Bill 167, sponsored by Sen. Deanna Hanna, D-Lakewood, also
mandated that Colorado employers provide breastfeeding mothers with
two additional 10 minute breaks per day to pump milk.
Colorado will join 10 other states which require employers to provide
private areas for breastfeeding mothers if the bill becomes law.
Hanna and others who backed the bill argued that breastfeeding mothers
deserve better than having to extract milk for their children inside a
bathroom stall.
Hanna stated, "Working breastfeeding mothers are true heroines in
our society, they're not to be looked upon as silly. Their needs
should not be looked upon as bothersome or second-class issues."
Dr. Marianne Neifert, professor of pediatrics at the University Health
Sciences Center states, "The dilemma we face is that 50 percent
of women return to work after giving birth. The single greatest
obstacle to breastfeeding is full-time employment."
Neifert goes on to say, "Studies show that it pays to accommodate
nursing mothers because it give infants a healthier start in life as
well as cutting down on missed days at work and saving on health care."
|
Breastfeeding
Reading
Room
